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The Yellowstone Seismic Network (YSN) is operated cooperatively by University of Utah, the US Geological Survey's Volcano Hazards Program, and the National Park Service. The network covers the seismically and volcanically active Yellowstone National Park and surrounding area. It is designed for the purpose of monitoring volcano and geyser-related earthquake activity and for studying the subsurface processes of Yellowstone.

Students installing a broadband seismometer.

Earthquake Data Recent earthquake activity in Yellowstone National Park (map and catalog with links). Recent earthquake activity in the Intermountain West (map and catalog with links). Live seismograms for the Yellowstone area (links to webicorders, updated every ten minutes). Earthquake epicenters at Yellowstone (links to automatically generated maps for time periods of one day to one year plus a few maps of longer time periods). Earthquake Catalog of Yellowstone area (maps and catalog). Discussion of earthquakes in Yellowstone area (map and discussion). Background Information General Questions and Answers about Earthquakes (University of Utah ). Tutorial on seismograms (USGS Earthquake Program). Yellowstone Seismograph Network (map of stations).

Continous recording and temporary deployments of Global Positioning Systems (GPS) receivers and bench marks on solid monuments are employed at Yellowstone to precisely record their positions (horizontal and vertical coordinates). The time variations over days, months, years, etc. provide the velocity (in cm per year) of the site relative to the rest of the points in Yellowstone and to the rest of the North American continent. The velocity fields thus map spatial variations of the ground due to such volcanic processes as magma and hydrothermal transport and fault motions related to earthquakes. Measurements of ground motions using GPS at Yellowstone thus provides a method of monitoring its active volcanic and tectonic processes that are necessary for understanding the properties and locations of the sources as well as providing information on possible premonitory motions that precede a volcanic or earthquake event.

The continuously recorded GPS data are telemetered via radio and satellite links to the University of Utah for recording and processing.

GPS stations and time-series data for the Yellowstone region (click on station for data). 3-dimensional velocity field  for the Yellowstone caldera from the University of Utah. Horizonal velocity field for the Yellowstone-Snake River Plain from the University of Utah. Station history, characteristics and status is available in a searchable archive courtesy of UNAVCO.  Station names are shown in the Ground Motions and Time Series links above.

A GPS campaign survey at Yellowstone.

River-Discharge and Chloride-Concentration Data Analysis of long-term river discharge and chloride concentrations in major rivers in Yellowstone provide a quantitative estimate of the total heat discharge from the Yellowstone volcanic system and can also be examined for temporal trends associated with magmatic and tectonic activity. Learn more.

Stream discharge and temperature at Tantalus Creek, Norris Geyser Basin Selected references on the Yellowstone hydrothermal system. Provisional real-time stream-flow data from the USGS of the major rivers draining Yellowstone National Park.

Tantalus gauging site.

Thermal-Feature Data

Steamboat Geyser Eruption.

Heat and volcanic gases rise from the Yellowstone magma chamber and warm the salty water that occupies fractured rocks above the Yellowstone magma chamber. That brine, in turn, transfers its heat to overlying fresh groundwater, which is recharged by rainfall and snowmelt from the surface. This superheated water can flash to steam, propelling both steam and hot water to the surface as a geyser. Steamboat, located in Norris Geyser Basin, is one of Yellowstone's most famous geysers. Yellowstone Park staff recently began monitoring the outlet channel of Steamboat Geyser. Temperature logs for Steamboat Geyser.

Leveling surveys have been conducted at Yellowstone since 1923 to determine if inflation or deflation has occurred at the volcanic system.

Leveling survey at Yellowstone.

Leveling data across Yellowstone caldera during 1923-1995. Yellowstone caldera and leveling benchmarks, map.

• Chloride flux (includes electronic data).
• Water levels of Yellowstone Lake.
  • Historical data collected by the U.S. Geological Survey with a gage (until 1986).
  • Manual reading [image] from 1990-2003.

Descriptions of volcano-monitoring techniques